WikiLeaks has revealed yet another bunch of documents, which are allegedly from the US spy agency and they could embarrass the US intelligence again.
WikiLeaks has posted nearly 9,000 files online, described as the largest-ever publication of secret intelligence resources, which they claim were leaked from Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) of the United Sates.
It alleges that a major trove of CIA secret files, hacking tools and code representing "the majority of its hacking arsenal" were leaked within the cyber security community, and WikiLeaks had received and released only a part of them.
"This extraordinary collection, which amounts to more than several hundred million lines of code, gives its possessor the entire hacking capacity of the CIA," says the non-profit organization.
The documents allege that CIA exploits the weaknesses it finds in several hardware and software systems, including those made by American companies, without informing anyone about the flaws. The spy agency has purportedly created thousands of their own malware, viruses, Trojans and other software systems that can enter and take control of personal electronics, such as iPhones, Android systems (reportedly the smartphone still used by the President Donald Trump), Microsoft software and Samsung smart TVs. These hacking tools are reportedly capable enough to turn these devices into mere microphones. The agency also examined hacking into electronic systems of cars and trucks, which potentially enables them to control the car, added WikiLeaks.
By infecting and taking control of the personal devices, CIA can easily break the encryption technologies of many popular apps, like WhatsApp, Signal, Telegram, Weibo and Confide by collecting conversations, before their encryption.
Neither CIA nor White House confirmed or denied these allegations by WikiLeaks. "We do not comment on the authenticity or content of purported intelligence documents," said spokesman Jonathan Liu in an email. White House spokesperson Sean Spicer also declined to comment saying it has not been entirely evaluated yet.
According to Gadgets 360, Devin Nunes, chairman of the House of Representatives' Intelligence Committee, said the disclosures "appear to be very, very serious" and "We are very concerned."
If proved to be true, this leak could again hamper US intelligence's reputation following expose of NSA by a former NSA employee Edward Snowden in 2013 and the arrest of another NSA official last year, who was removing massive amount of confidential data to his home for the past 20 years.
"The dark side of this story is that the documents confirm that the CIA holds on to security vulnerabilities in software and devices - including Android phones, iPhones, and Samsung televisions - that millions of people around the world rely on," said Cindy Cohn, executive director of the Electronic Frontier Foundation.
These reports show that WikiLeaks will very much continue to reveal this kind of leaks, even after being severely criticized for last year's leaks that damaged Democrat Hillary Clinton's potential to be the President of the US.
Earlier this year (in January), US intelligence officials said that WikiLeaks has become a pawn of a Russian operation to interfere in the US election process with the high-profile leaks.
